By STEPHANIE BUNKER
Moapa Valley Progress
The varsity girl’s basketball team at Mack Lyon Middle School pushed its way into the regional play-off tournament this season, making it the first time the Mustang team has ever reached this level in their league.
The play-off game took place on Monday, March 16. Even though they didn’t secure a win, the Varsity team didn’t give up and they represented their school well.
The Mustangs played Tarkanian Middle School for the very first game in the tournament. Tarkanian has held the title of 2nd place in the district for the last 7 years and were the champions in 2013.
The play-off game ended with a Tarkanian victory with a score of 50-26.
Lyon varsity basketball coach Erin Leavitt said, “The girls played hard and no matter how tough it was out there they were always good sports, which says mountains about who they are.”
The Varsity team won 11 games and lost 3 throughout the pre-season and league games. Leavitt said the key to their success was being strong in defense. They were aggressive and weren’t afraid to play any team, she said.
“It was a great season on and off the court,” Leavitt said. “I loved how fun and friendly the girls were off the court but when they stepped on that floor, it was game on.”.
Lyon varsity team player Emilie Barraza said, “I think we did well because we worked well together. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. We respected one another and knew how far we could push each other to achieve our full potential as players.”
The players on the Varsity team have been friends and playing basketball with one another since they were very young.
“We believed in each other and in ourselves when we played, and would always play until the bitter end,” said team captain Lainey Cornwall. “We also had a great coach who understood us and knew how to keep us motivated.”
Peyton Schraft was also a team captain. “We always had close games but we pulled through and won most of them because of the confidence we had in each other as a team,” Schraft said.
Coach Leavitt said she sees much potential in this group of girls.
“If they played that well in 8th grade then they will get even better in years to come,” she said. “Winning is in their future.”
The players were appreciative of their coach Erin Leavitt and the Boys Varsity Coach Brent Leavitt for giving a helping hand throughout the season.
